Woven fabric construction



Dec. 31, 1957 D. E. HQUGHTON 2,818,088

WOVEN FABRIC CONSTRUCTION Filed March 28, 1956 IN VEN TOR.

DANIEL E. HOUGHTGN ATTORNEY United States Patent t WOVEN FABRIC.`CONSTRUCTION Daniel -Houghton, Arlington, Ya., assigner to yNew YorkWireClothCompany, `,York, Pa., Ia corporation of Delaware ApplicationMar`clr-28,i19'56,a Serial 'Nor 57145437 4.Claims. .'(Cl. 139-,425)

rThis invention relates to' improvements in awoven fabric `constructionand, more particularly, to improvements .in Ythe selvage edgeiconstruetion'ofa :woven'fabric While not'limited thereto, V.the presentinventionis-zparticularly adapted to being used in-fwoven:metallicffabric such as insect screening. Moreover, the successbfithenew `constructionsterns'largelyfrom the warp .andiweft filaments of thefabric Vbeing .formed fromymaterialsuch as metallic wire which,lwhenrbent, Iwill-retain the new shape `to which the filament has tbeenbent. However, there are Aother types o-fi'laments .whichztfunction:similarly such as certain of the synthetic:resinflarnentsf-and, whereVthe use 'of such Yotherttypes :offfilamentsfisrpossible or desirable,the vpresent -inventionis i intended "-tofinclude such filaments withinitsfscope.

Conventional textile fabrics principally are wovenby disposing anendless 'weft Y#thread :in woven y'relationship `with thewarp-threadsIofy the fabric. 'Weaving lof this nature-howeverrequires bobbins `uponywhich thesweft thread is wound, the vbobbins -being disposedzin-theshuttle lwhichtpasses through the shedformed by fthewarpE threads orstrands during lthe tweavin-g'operation. 1Iii-weaving .of this typehowever, when the thread or strandof-textile -rnaterial upon the bobbinbecomes exhausted, -itris -nec essaryto replace `the-empt-y-.bobbin with-ailled Tone in the shuttle and this resultsiinaninterruptiontovtheweaving` operation. 4

-Wire cloth-such as insect-'screening r.also commonly, has

- been 'formedt by using; asubstantially .-continuousweft fwire orstrand'initially `woundnpona lbobbin vdisposed in the ,shuttle of rtheloom. Hon/ever, the tinterruption to .the

weavingprocess l.at the time` of..replacinganemptybobbin withafilledone.isobjectionable rAccordingly,` looms andprocesses `ofweavingareurrently used Which are based upon vtheprinciple,oftwolgrippingmembers being respectively reciprocable fromopposite sides ofthe. loom toward the center thereof, oneofrthegripperspulling .a weft wire or lament of indefinite length .which may be woundupon a large single reel, substantiallyv half Way throughthe shed, atwhich timethe oppositegripperengages the end of the weft wire or`filament andpulls 'it .throughvthe remaining half of -the shed,.whereby a weft wire extends `continuously across the shed between theoppositey selvage edges thereof. The wire then is cut at theedge of thefabric from which the weft Vwire initially was fed and the operation isrepeated. ,The cut orfree endsof the weft wire or 'filament preferablyproject short distances beyond the extremities y.of the opposite selvageedges of the fabric being woven. In ordertotinish the fabric, it isnecessary to suitably treat or manipulate Ysaid `projecting ends of theweft wire or filament Asothat a smooth and acceptable selvage edge isprovided at opposite sides of the fabric being-woven.

The presently used arrangements for vl'finishing such selvage edges ofso-called cut weft yfabrics comprise twisting the projecting ends of theweftwiresaround theouter- Amostwarp wires orfilaments 'for example,ybending-said projecting weft -ends into engagement with Aone for amore2,818,088 Patented Dec. 31 19;,57

rice

ofthe outermost warp wires at the selvage `and-welding lsaid ends oftheweft Wiresthereto, Aor"using vsolder-in lieu of welding to connectthe ybent weftends to said outermost selvage wires or lilaments. Theseoperations require complicated and relativelyexpensive looms to -producefabric which has a commercially acceptable sel- Vage construction atopposite edges thereof. "Further, certain fabrics f of this `type `areobjectionable in` thatfthe sharp cut ends ofthe weft wiresorflamentsearefdis- .posed in such -relationshiprto the outersurfaces ofthe fabric that the selvage has a roughness 4oralcoarseness vcapable ofyscratching anyone yhandling thefselvage of the fabric.

It is the principal object of. they present invent-ion'r-to pro` vide vfabric 'woven Vfrom'predetermined"lengths of weft wires Ior other typesoftilaments, the opposite yends Vof which rare vcut kand initially-projectf'beyondi the-outermost warp wires or"laments but are *bent*inwardlyvso fasvto -be tuckedA into the selvage .at opposite edgesfoffthe fabric being'wovem the tucked :ends-of"the'weftwiresforflavatpresent in the production ofsoacallejdfcut'zweft fabrics.

:Still -another'object of the invention'isrto mrovid'era fabric such asdescribed above Vwith fstabilizingntneans preferably in the outermostedges-of. thefselvagefzat'eaeh vedge of rthe fabric, said4stabilizing'meansfretainingthe .tucked .endsf of the cut-weftwiresgorilamentsfseen-relyin the desired 'position in which they t arel 'formedkwhenithe fabric liswoven.

Ancillary to-the Yforegoing obje-ct,-thestabilizing means, in thepreferred embodimentthereof, comprises appairzof warp-like wiresorlamcnts which are disposed in-1ongitudinal juxtaposition Lto -eachfotherf incident to the-weav ing ofrthe fabric, wherebynoadditional-"operation-isre- `quired to incorporate the `stabilizingmeans .withinitbe fabric.

Details of the invention and theforegoingfobjeets, as ,well as otherobjects thereof,.are set'forthrv in the'followf ing specification and.illustratedin the l.accompanying `drawing .comprising afpart thereof.

.In the drawing:

Pig. l-is a fragmentary -plan,viewsofasectionvof woven fabric embodyingthe ,principles .ofuthe .present invent-ion and illustrating a portionof one selvage edge of .saidsectionof. fabric.

Fig. Zis ,an enlarged sectionalifragmentary .view ofthe ,fabric shownin-Fig. 1, takenon the yline 2-.2.-of,l`ig. .1.

Itis to be understood .that` the `fabric illustrateddnligs. 1 and 2 ofthedrawing primarily is .exemplaryforpurposes of illustrating thepreferred construction, .particularly -of vthe yselvage edges, only vone,such selvage-,edge

,being illustrated. As shown in Fig. l, .thefabrel comprises avplurality of preferably parallel warpmstrandsor filaments which arespacedinaccordance with aconventionalfabric of mesh-type suchas insectscreening. `As stated. above, the strands or 'iilaments [12,.aswell asthe weft strandsor filaments 14preferably are formed from material whichis llexible,ryet is capable of being ,bentand willretainsubstantiallyvthe shape .to which itlhas been bent. Metal wire suchassteel,bronze, copper,alumi num, and other suitable material, -eitherplated, coated, oruncoated, as desired, is admirably suitedffor thewarpandweft strands or 1ilamentsf12and'1'4. "Furtherft-hese strandsorlaments may befformedfromother suitable material-such ascertainsynthetic resins whichhave physi-=cal':characteristiessuitable:to permitv bending of lthesstrands y orlamentsiinto desired shapeslat certain 'locations inithe 3 fabric forpurposes of producing the benefits of the inven- For purposes ofsimplifying the description of the invention, it will be assumed thatthe warp and weft strands or filaments 12 and 14 comprise suitablemetallic wire but the invention is not to be restricted to the use ofthis type of material only.

In Figs. l and 2, only a portion of one selvage edge of a strip or sheetof fabric is illustrated. It will be understood however that theopposite edge of said strip or sheet of fabric will be similar to thatillustrated in Figs. l and 2. The warp wires or filaments 12 will beassumed to be of indefinite lengths and the weft wires or filaments 14are separate from each other and comprise Wires which have individuallybeen cut from a reel of such wire after insertion of each weft wirethrough the shed comprising the separated warp wires 12.

The length of each of the weft wires or filaments 14 preferably is alittle greater than the width of the fabric 10, whereby the oppositeends 16 originally project a predetermined distance beyond the extremityof the selvage edge 18 of the fabric 10, one example of such projectingcut weft end being shown in dotted lines in the lower portion of Fig. l.

In the course of the operation of the loom which weaves the fabric 10,said projecting cut weft ends 16 are bent substantially 180 from theprojecting position illustrated in dotted lines in Fig. l, to the fullline positions thereof illustrated in said figure. Depending `upon thenature of the loom, it may be that the inwardly bent or tucked ends 16of the weft wires or filaments 14 may not be fully bent to the full linepositions thereof illustrated in Fig. l. However, upon the positioningof the next weft wire or filament through the shed and the nextreciprocation of the beat-up mechanism, said last mentioned weft wire orfilament will be pushed against the inwardly bent ends 16 and completethe bending thereof to final position illustrated in full lines in Fig.l in the event such complete bending has not taken place already.

Preferably, the length of the proiecting cut ends 16 of the weft wiresor filaments is such that when they are bent into the full line positionshown in Fig. l, they will extend across a limited number of the warpwires or filaments 12 of the order of the number illustrated in Fig. 1.It will be seen from said figure that the inwardly bent and tucked ends16 extend substantially in parallel arrangement with the adjacent weftwires or filaments 14. all of these bein g crenelated incident to theweaving operation as illustrated in side sectional elevation in Figure2. Such crenelation aids in maintaining the tucked cut ends 16 inoperative position within the selvage edge 18 of the fabric 10.

Further to stabilize the cut and tucked ends 16 of the weft wires orfilaments 14. the present invention, in its preferred embodiment,includes stabilizing means preferably disoosed adjacent the outerextremity of the selvage edges 18. One preferred form of stabilizingmeans is illustrated specifically in Figs. l and 2 and comprises a pairof stabilizing warp wires or filaments 20 and 22 which are alsopreferably disposed in longitudinally juxtapositioned arrangement toeach other. In the weaving of the fabric, the stabilizing warp wires orfilaments 2G and 22 may be fed from separate reels or drums, or may bedisposed upon the warp drum which carries the strands or filaments 12.However, no additional operation or function is required to incorporatethe stabilizing warp wires or filaments 20 and 22 within the selvageedges of the fabric and the beat-up operation anchors the stabilizingwarp wires or filaments 20 and 22 relative to the weft strands orfilaments 14 as well as the cut ends 16 thereof by intercrenelating thesame by the weaving operation.

While the stabilizing warp wires or filaments 20 and 22 have been shownin the drawing as being substantially the same diameter as the warpwires or filaments 12, it has been found that said stabilizing warpWires or filaments may be of smaller diameter than the warp wires orfilaments 12 if desired and yet will function to anchor the inwardlybent and tucked cut ends 16 of the weft wires or laments 14.

From the foregoing, it will be seen that the present invention providesa woven fabric which may be made in indefinite lengths by utilizing warpstrands or filaments of similar length but individually separate weftstrands or filaments of predetermined length interwoven with said warpstrands or filaments. A predetermined length of the individual weftstrands or filaments originally project beyond the selvage edges of thefabric but are bent inwardly and are tucked and interwoven with alimited number of the outermost warp strands or filaments whichinterweaving aids in anchoring and fixing said tucked weft ends withinthe selvage edges of the fabric but, in addition, the tucked weft endsare further stabilized by preferably using supplemental means, oneexample of which comprises specifically illustrated stabilizing Warpwires or filaments disposed at the outermost parts of the selvage edgesof the fabric. The inherent nature of the wires, strands or filamentswhich comprise the weft members of the fabric and also the warp membersof the fabric is such that preferably the inwardly bent, tucked andinterwoven cut ends of the weft members subsequently remain in thepositions to which they have been bent, notwithstanding thc stabilizingmeans and the interwoven arrangement in the selvages of the fabric.

Further, the stabilizing filaments preferably are in longitudinalabutting relationship to each other and respectively are oppositelywoven relative to the weft wires or filaments.

While the invention has been shown and illustrated in its preferredembodiment, and has included certain details, it should be understoodthat the invention is not to be limited to the precise details hereinillustrated and described since the same may be carried out in otherways falling within the scope of the invention as claimed.

I claim:

l. Insect screening fabric and the like woven from flexible metallicwire filaments and comprising in combination. a plurality of parallelwarp wire filaments, a plurality of separate and substantially parallelweft Wire filaments woven through said warp filaments transverselythereto and of greater length than the width of the fabric, the ends ofsaid weft filaments being bent inwardly at the outer extremity of theselvage substantially into parallelism with the adjacent weft filamentsand interwoven between a limited number of spaced successive warpfilaments of the selvage of the fabric, whereby said ends are tuckedbetween said warp filaments and the selvage edges of the fabric resemblethe selvage edges of conventional fabric having a continuous weftfilament, and a pair of Warp-like wire stabilizing filaments disposed inthe selvage and parallel to the other warp filaments, said stabilizingfilaments being in side-by-side abutting relationship to each other andalso being respectively oppositely woven relative to said weft filamentsand inwardly bent ends thereof, thereby firmly positioning the inwardlybent ends of said weft filaments in woven position within the fabricselvage.

2. Insect screening fabric and the like woven from flexible metallicwire filaments capable of being bent and of retaining such bent shapewhen formed into a woven fabric, said fabric comprising in combination,a plurality of such wire filaments arranged in spaced parallelrelationship to comprise the Warp of said fabric, and a plurality ofsuch wire filaments separate from each other and woven as weft throughsaid warp filaments transversely thereto, said separate weft wirefilaments being of greater length than the width of the fabric and theends of said weft filaments being bent inwardly to form a U-shaped endwith substantially parallel sides at the outer extremity of the fabricselvage and being interwoven into crenelated shape between a limitednumber of spaced successive warp filaments adjacent the selvage edge ofthe fabric, whereby said ends are tucked between said selvage warpfilaments to secure the same in tucked position and the selvage edges ofthe fabric resemble the selvage edges of conventional fabric having acontinuous weft filament.

3. Insect screening fabric and the like woven from flexible metallicwire filaments capable of being bent and of retaining such shape afterbending, said fabric comprising in combination, a plurality of such Wirefilaments arranged yin spaced parallel relationship to comprise the warpof said fabric, and a plurality of such wire filaments separate fromeach other and woven as weft through said warp filaments transverselythereto, said separate weft Wire filaments being of greater length thanthe width of the fabric and both ends of said weft filaments being bentinwardly respectively at opposite edges of said fabric to lform aU-shaped end with substantially parallel sides at the outer extremitiesof the fabric selvages and said weft ends being interwoven intocrenelated shape between a limited number of spaced successive warpfilaments adjacent the selvage edge of the fabric, whereby said ends aretucked and woven between said selvage warp filaments to secure the samein tucked position and the selvage edges of the fabric resemble theselvage edges of conventional fabric having a continuous weft filament.

4. Insect screening fabric and the like woven from flexible metallicwire capable of being bent and of retaining such shape after being, saidfabric comprising in combination, a plurality of strands of such wirearranged in spaced parallel relationship to cor'nprise the warp of saidfabric, a plurality of strands of such wire separate from each other andwoven as weft through said warp wires transversely thereto, saidseparate weft wires being of greater length than the width of the fabricand the ends of said weft Wires being bent inwardly to form a U-shapedend at the outer extremity of the fabric selvage and said weft endsbeing interwoven between a limited number of spaced successive warpwires adjacent the selvage edge of the fabric, whereby said ends aretucked between said spaced successive selvage warp wires to secure thesame in tucked position and the selvage edges of the fabric resemble theselvage edges of conventional woven wire fabric having a continuous weftfilament, and a pair of warp-like stabilizing filaments disposedoutermost in the selvage and parallel to the warp wires, saidstabilizing filaments being in side-by-side abutting relationship toeach other and respectively oppositely woven relative to said weft Wiresand tucked ends thereof, thereby firmly positioning the inwardly bentends of said weft wires in the woven position thereof within the selvageof the fabric.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,948,051 Rossmann Feb. 20, 1934 2,027,778 Holtzapple Jan. 14, 19362,034,487 Rossmann Mar. 17, 1936 FOREIGN PATENTS 525,790 Germany May 28,1931

